Is THIS What HIP HOP Has Become?!? Snoop Dogg, Nelly, the Trump Inauguration, and #TheCulture

[00:00:00] There's been a lot of backlash about a number of prominent rap artists that chose to perform at events that were linked to the second inauguration of President Donald Trump. And a source says that Snoop Dogg is among the headliners. The cryptocurrency industry celebration at Donald Trump's inauguration. There were a ton of celebrities there, but in particular, there were a few celebrities who got a lot of, like, a lot of dragging for performing and being anywhere close to anything that had to do with President Trump. Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, and Nelly.

[00:00:29] We saw former fans expressing their disappointment. Critics saying that they weren't in the least bit surprised. People that were fully in support of these artists, some were Trump fans, some weren't. They just had no problem with it. There were a bunch of well-known media figures, either like D.L. Hughley, calling them out. You're entitled to do whatever you want to do beyond recrimination. But I do think it's interesting that there were more black people genuflecting and rapping in front of him and performing for him than he will ever put in front of their cabinet.

[00:00:59] He'll never put them in the cabinet. And you ever notice you never hear them yell DEI when a black person is rapping, singing, dancing, jumping or running? Because that's our province. They only say DEI when you encroach where white men should go. They only say DEI when you do something they think only they have the right to do. So it's never DEI when you're doing what you're supposed to do. When you're DJing and being snooping and DJing a party, they ain't gonna get mad. That's what you're supposed to do. Try to lead. Then it's DEI.

[00:01:28] Keith Boykin appearing on CNN. It's also a dishonor to the black community. I mean, if you look at Donald Trump, the man who would refuse to rent to black people in the 1970s, who tried to lead a lynch mob against five black and brown kids in the 1980s for the Central Park case, who refused to allow black casino workers to have a prominent place in his casinos in Atlantic City in the 1990s, who spent five and a half years lying about Barack Obama's birth certificate in the 2000s,

[00:01:55] who came in office and then attacked black people like Colin Kaepernick, who attacked Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shea Moss, for simply doing their jobs as Fulton County election workers. You dishonor those people when you go and perform for this man, this man who has done nothing but dishonor black people. And just even last year, just last year, he was calling Haitian immigrants, accusing them of eating cats and dogs.

[00:02:21] This is not somebody that black people should be associated with and pretending to normalize. We should be challenging him. And it dishonors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we honor on Monday to celebrate this man. Or defending them like Stephen A. Smith. In the Soulja Boy's case, it was making money. And in Nelly's case, it was being an artist. And in Snoop's case, it was about supporting his new, his new youth league and all the things he has done and plans on doing.

[00:02:51] And by the way, all of these years he's been doing it. He's been coming out of his own pocket. So Snoop could do all of these things. And he spews a few cuss words and shows up. Dropping like it's hot. Dropping like it's hot. At the inauguration or the inauguration event. And that's a problem? Or deflecting like Charlamagne the God on The Breakfast Club. The hypocrisy that people display in regards to who they like and don't like is mind blowing to me.

[00:03:18] Like there is no way you are more mad at rappers for performing at these inauguration events than you are at the elected officials who told us Trump was a fascist, a threat to democracy, a danger to our country and the Constitution. They likened him to Hitler. But then folks like Biden just welcomed him back in the White House. Obama was sharing a good laugh with him at the funeral of President Carter. We know why the rappers, you know, did what they did. We know why they doing it. They got paid. What's the politician's excuse for normalizing Trump?

[00:03:47] And there were some interesting responses from some of the artists themselves. Like Soulja Boy. They paid me a bag. Obama ain't never put no money in my pockets. Kamala ain't never put no money in my pockets. Trump put money in my pockets. Or the non-performing but did perform Rick Ross. Nah, chill, chill. I'm not performing. I am in Washington, D.C. right now, but I'm not performing.

[00:04:16] It's a private vibe I'm doing with my brother Snoop Dogg. Mm-hmm. Me and Snoop Dogg, we here. It's going down. And we heard from Nelly on Willie D's podcast. I thought you was riding with me for the people that I got signed up on the bone marrow stem cell registry that was all record-breaking and helping people save lives. I thought you was riding with your boy for the children that we visit at Children's Hospital to bring.

[00:04:44] I thought you was riding with me for the bikes and the presents and the things that we give away to unfortunate kids at Christmas. I thought you was riding with me because I put on for my city and I try to bring my city up every step of the way. I did not know you was riding with me because you thought I would ride for who you voted for. I didn't know that. I apologize. I apologize. I didn't know that I had to agree with your political choices. I'm not doing this for money.

[00:05:14] I'm doing this because it's an honor. I respect the office. It don't matter who is in office. What do you say to the people that say we're not giving you this backlash because of your political affiliation or your political choice or whatever. We're giving you this backlash because you are propping up a white supremacist.

[00:05:42] I would ask them to show me where he's a white supremacist. Meanwhile, Keith Boykin is looking at him like. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion on this. I'm just a guy. I can't tell you how you should feel about this. Except if you feel like this. From the black side on X. Quote, let's have that conversation about what hip hop has become over the past 30 years. Well, okay. Let's have that conversation. For every Snoop Dogg rocking at a Crypto Bros Trump rally,

[00:06:12] I'll show you a bunch of elementary, middle school, and high school teachers that are using hip hop to help young students get excited about learning, to improve their engagement levels and retention of subject matter, to boost their test scores, and to open their minds to new fields and disciplines. For every Nelly, I'll show you a collective of mental health professionals utilizing hip hop music, culture, and sensibilities to improve the well-being of a person for whom traditional therapy methods did nothing.

[00:06:38] Young people in school counseling settings, teens and adults in therapy sessions. It's revolutionary work that's shown enormous potential, and honestly, it's helping save lives. Right now. For every Rick Ross, I'll show you a slew of independent hip hop artists that also work on the front lines of the fight for social justice. Not just rapping about inequality, but working with organizations and youth groups. Not just entertaining, but using their art to inform and educate and inspire action.

[00:07:07] For every Soulja Boy, I'll show you an assortment of hip hop flavored non-profit organizations that are improving the lives and livelihoods of members of their community through in-school or after-school programming that teach self-worth and assist with self-expression. They teach civics, financial literacy, computer programming, and other valuable skills that the education system, particularly in certain communities, just doesn't offer. And for every media outlet sharing engagement-based stories or social media posts about these artists performing,

[00:07:37] or sharing videos of Roseanne Barr and Tom McDonald, or immediately posting reaction videos just to garner more reactions, I'll show you a collection of recent news stories that highlight the innovative, inventive ways that hip hop music and culture are helping uplift humanity in areas like education and healthcare and science and technology and business and entrepreneurship. And yeah, politics and social justice. And I'd do it like every week. I'd do it every single day if I could.

[00:08:05] So yes, it's important for sure to call out what would seem like sellout behavior from some of our genre's most iconic celebrities. But just as much as we might be engulfed by disappointment, we should just as easily remember that while these celebrities may have entertained us throughout the years, and some may even have done some good things for their communities. They rarely uphold or apply the true tenets of hip hop music and culture to their careers.

[00:08:31] Assuming they ever did, most no longer represent the core ideals of this inclusive, caring, inventive, and innovative culture, which has always existed to uplift the lives of those being oppressed, not celebrate the success and ascension of oppressors. And it's not just rappers. Let's be honest. Most of the entertainment world's rich and famous and successful artists have never been and will never be true warriors for a more just and inclusive society.

[00:08:59] Not when there's a bag to be made. They pay me a bag. So we shouldn't expect it, and we shouldn't be surprised when it doesn't happen. I always say this isn't the 1960s, when we needed musicians to serve as vital messengers in the fight for equality and justice. Now those kinds of artists still exist, of course, and we love them and need them, but as we know, they're not and will likely never again be at the forefront of the music industrial complex. But this is where hip hop shines, brighter than any genre that preceded it.

[00:09:29] Because the real impact now comes from folks who understand and respect and are tuned into the culture, not the ones who may have mastered the genre. It's those folks. The folks that I mentioned. The teachers. The mentors. The mental health professionals. The indie artists. The non-profit leaders. The activists. That's what hip hop has become in the past 30 years. So if you're disturbed by Snoop, Nelly, Rick Ross, or Soulja Boy cranking it for Trump,

[00:09:56] or the absurdly racist and frankly just bizarre rap-flavored appropriations by folks like Barr or McDonald or Marjorie Taylor Greene, or the divisive rhetoric circulating regarding hip hop's true origins, you got every right to be upset. Just know that these things are happening by design. Just like when this happens. Tonight, Elon Musk making light of a gesture some found offensive at an inauguration celebration Monday.

[00:10:23] And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you. Some critics saying this hand motion looked like a Nazi salute. On the same day all of this happens. President Donald Trump sworn into office and signs the most executive orders ever by a president on day one. They know how easily we can be distracted. And they know how riled up folks will get, and rightfully so,

[00:10:49] when they feel that their community or their culture is being infiltrated or abused or co-opted, as it has all too often in the past. At the same time, for all of these reasons, it's more important than ever that we recognize that what we're seeing from Snoop and them, it's not hip hop. It's a part of hip hop, for sure. Some of it is pure bastardization and hijacking of hip hop, no doubt. And a lot of these issues, hip hop's cultural participants have to work out amongst themselves.

[00:11:16] But to those who might think that what we're seeing is what hip hop has become, understand, that does not represent the kind of hip hop that we talk about when we say hip hop can save America. For that kind of hip hop, you're in the right place.